In 1978, the book "Scruples" hit the best-seller lists and a women's clothing store with the same name opened in the Champions area of town.

Today, readers still buy the book online and the 34-year-old clothing store has amassed an Internet following of 3,800 "friends" at last count.

"This is the next generation," said Betty Griffin, 74, longtime owner of Scruples Boutique. "I look at some of the other stores around town that had wonderful reputations, but they've closed because they had no one to carry it forward."

"My personal page was doing so well, I thought, 'Why not do one for the store?' " recalled Dietert, who has 1,500 "friends" on her own page. "That's our demographic - women who have children - and they like to go online at night and post pictures for their friends to see. Only I post pictures of clothes."

"People don't have a lot of time these days," said Suzette Brimmer, division chairman of lifestyle arts and design careers at Houston Community College (Central). "They might not buy online, but they will pre-shop. Since boutiques can't hope to compete with major retailers - which have whole marketing departments working for them - the best thing they can do is beef up their Internet presence."

Whether because of its online presence or old-fashioned word-of-mouth, the boutique has become one of the top-selling stores for the Joseph Ribkoff clothing line. That high-end Canadian line features everything from evening dresses to basic tank tops.

Scruples Boutique can trace its success back to a sweltering summer day in '78.

"That summer, my teenagers were driving me crazy," Griffin said. "I had to get out of the house, so I went looking for a job and ended up in a clothing boutique."

Griffin became a partner in Scruples a year later, and its sole owner after eight years. By that time, the store had spawned several other locations - including ones in Kingwood, the Memorial area and the underground tunnel system downtown.

"Then the oil crash hit Houston in '84, and people were losing their jobs left and right," Griffin said. "I was running back and forth between all four stores, trying to do it all."

The last of the new locations, in Town & Country, folded in 1989, leaving only the 3,300-square-foot original store in Champions Village.

Today, the boutique stocks between $80,000 and $100,000 worth of merchandise at any one time. Although Griffin declined to divulge annual revenues, she and Dietert make quarterly buying trips to the Dallas Market Center, where they regularly purchase $30,000 worth of merchandise. Griffin's husband, Mike, keeps track of the books and inventory.

"That can make or break a small business," Griffin said. "Order too much and you can't get rid of your inventory. It's a fine line."

The store employs eight part-time salespeople, including Dietert and Drury. Griffin said the staff's attention to detail appeals to customers, some of whom have shopped there for three decades.

"We'll even do same-day alterations," Griffin said. "How many stores can say that? I've had women walk into my shop at 5 p.m. and say they need an evening dress for that night. They know we'll do whatever it takes."